Unexpected
by sugahcat
Summary: Whilst at Hogwarts over Christmas, Harry gets a most unexpected visit from Draco Malfoy. Cute, fluffy ~slash~! *Chapter 13 up* Please R&R!
1. The Truth Comes Out

My first piece of Slash, a cute and fuzzy piece of fluff. Maybe a bit OOC, but how can you write fluff with Draco in character!? Please R&R, tell me what you think. It's all JK's and the WB's.

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Unexpected

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It had been an annoying, long day in the library for Harry. He'd been trying to read up on Potions stuff, but his head didn't seem to quite want to understand it. Add that to the fact that the new librarian, Madame Jasmina, was very attractive, and you had a problem. Cursing, he walked towards the Gryffindor common room in a very annoyed, very confused state of mind. 

"Super Wizard Crackers," Harry muttered to the Fat Lady, shaking his head at the password. They just kept getting dafter and dafter. Looking up, Harry stopped dead. In front of him, sat in an arm chair, was Draco Malfoy. Harry stared. The boy shouldn't be here - not in this common room, not even in the school - hadn't he gone home for Christmas? Drawing his wand, Harry pointed it at him. He'd had just about enough for today, and if Malfoy's plan was to fight, he'd be sorry he messed with the Boy Who Lived. 

"Potter, put the wand down," he sighed. "I didn't come here to fight you."

"Really?" Harry asked, jade eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Then what-"

"Sit down," Draco said with a laconic wave of his hand. Harry did so, in a seat close to him, but didn't put his wand away. Something wasn't quite right here... "Look, I wouldn't be here, but - well, I-" Draco stopped. Was that a blush? Harry stared, his suspicion melting into surprise and amusment. "Don't you dare laugh, Harry." Another surprise. Had Malfoy ever called him by his first name before? What was going on? Maybe he was still asleep? He tried to surreptitiously pinch himself. "What are you doing?" Draco asked, eyebrow raised in amusement. "Well, never mind. Now that you've made a prat of yourself, I don't feel quite so bad. Crabbe and Goyle made me come here, said they were sick of me whining." Draco paused, and Harry wondered. Since when did Malfoy do what the two great bully's told him? Wasn't it the other way around? He began to feel quite dizzy, and wished Malfoy would get to the point. 

Unexpectedly, Malfoy sat forward, looking somewhere between angry and embarressed. "I shouldn't have come. It was stupid, pointless-"

"No way are you leaving now," Harry said. "You've made your way here - confused the hell out of me - so you're going to damned well tell me what this is about. I don't know what it is, but just spit it out - do you know what sort of day I've had?!" Harry was starting to get mad - and here was a chance to unload. "I've been in the library all day trying to do research, and there're no books with what I need - there never are, or maybe I'm just stupid, maybe that's what you think, I-"

"I don't think you're stupid Potter. That's what I came here to tell you." Harry stopped, suddenly deflated and confused again. What was happening? His amazement increased when Malfoy took his hand. "I don't think that at all. I don't think any of the things you probably think I do. That's what I've been moaning about to Crabbe and Goyle, why they made me come here - to tell you how I feel about you." Harry stared. "I... really like you. I mean, I-" Malfoy blushed, then spoke in a whisper. "You probably don't feel the same way, but if you do, I was wondering, do you want to do something sometime? You know, together."

Harry looked around suspicious again. Where were Crabbe and Goyle? Were they waiting to jump out and had missed their cue?

"Potter, I'm serious!" Malfoy yelled, jumping to his feet and looking mad. "I just spill my heart in front of you and you think I'm _joking_? Well I'm not. I'm attracted to you, Potter. Something I'm not proud of, but I can't hide it anymore." Harry looked at him, still suspicous. Malfoy looked down at him, with what looked suspiciously like tears in his eyes. "Fine. I guess that's your answer. Then this conversation never happened." Harry watched him leave, slamming the portrait behind him. He stared in the direction Draco had gone for a long while whilst his tired brain tried to sort out what had just occured. Draco Malfoy was attracted to him? To _him_? Harry had thought Draco had hated him. Never stopped teasing him, calling him every name he could think of - but maybe - just maybe. 

"Bloody hell," Harry muttered, getting to his feet. Malfoy had been serious. That took some guts to say in front of anyone, especially when you didn't know if they felt the same way. Harry paused, and felt colour rise to his own cheeks. _And I do._ Blinking at the revelation, a small smile curved Harry's lips, then his eyes widened. He had to go after Draco. 

Leaving the common room, Harry looked left and right, unsure of which way to turn. Shrugging, he guessed the Slytherin common room would be a good start. As he walked along the corridors, he wondered what exactly he would say, and realised that Draco had been through this exact same process, only more so. At least Harry had an idea of what the reaction might be. Either Draco would accept his apology, and they could stop being enemies - though Harry wanted to try being friends before anything else. Or else - and this was more likely, Harry thought with a grim smile, Draco would go off his nut at him. It was fair enough. Like the other boy had said, he'd told Harry his deepest, most secret feelings and Harry had done everything short of laugh at him. He'd make up for that, if Draco would let him. Reaching the Slytherin common room, Harry wondered what to do. The didn't know the password, and there weren't any Slytherin's at the school to ask. And it'd be a cold day in hell before Harry would ask Snape - who wouldn't give it to him anyway. His dilemma was solved when the portrait swung open, revealing Draco Malfoy, who stared at Harry. His eyes were red, and his hair dishevelled. Had he really been crying - over him? Harry stared at him in wonder. 

"Come to gloat some more, Potter?" Malfoy snarled, and Harry shook his head. It was ignored. "Well, you can go back to where you came from, because I-" Harry leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. Malfoy stared at him in utter shock. Harry smiled, blushing.

"If I'd known it were that easy to shut you up..." 

"I- I-" Draco stopped, then stood aside. "Come in," he said, and Harry followed him into the common room. They both sat down, staring at each other intently. This was very strange - but very nice, too. "Well, what do you want?"

It seemed almost a strange question, and it was stranger still being here, not fighting with Malfoy. It seemed that was all they had ever done, and just talking, sitting, maybe more, was something alien. They were both uncomfortable, but getting more relaxed.

"I think we need to be friends, first," Harry said slowly. "Maybe over Christmas, if you're staying. And then - Well, we'll see." To his surprise, Draco smiled at him, a dazzling smile that made him beautiful.

"Thank you, Harry," he said, taking his hands in his own. "I was scared you'd tell everyone - But now you're here, and-" He looked as though he didn't quite believe it, but gave The Smile again. "If nothing else, I'm glad you're my friend."

Harry gave a warm smile himself, feeling comfortable in Draco's precense for the first time. "Me too."


	2. Revelations

Unexpected  
Part Two  
All's JK's and WB's

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Harry waited outside the Slytherin common room, breathing deeply to calm himself. He and Draco had spent most of the Christmas holidays together. And it had been fun. They'd played chess, explored the castle together - Draco knew of places that Harry had never even seen before, save on the Marauder's Map, and they could be pretty interesting. One place, a Quidditch trophy room, had got pictures of his and Draco's fathers - as well as a team picture of the Gryffindor's and Slytherin's in Harry's dad's time, with Snape and Sirius trying to kill each other. It was pretty funny, but being able to see some more picture's of his father was the best thing Draco could have given him. A visit to Hogsmeade in Harry's invisibility cloak had been fun. The two had gone to the Hogs Head and stuffed themselves with far too much butterbeer and sweets. And now the holidays were over, and the two were meeting or one last time while they could be alone. 

The portrait swung open, and Draco stood there, smirking at him. "What are you waiting for, Potter? I _told_ you the password."

Harry gave him a look. As much as he'd grown to like Draco, he could still be most annoying. "I know, it's _Diddlysquat_. I was just, you know, getting ready."

"For?" Draco raised his eyebrow, and Harry smiled at him. He looked good. A strand of that pale, pale blond hair of his was in his eyes, those blue eyes that made Harry feel almost dreamy. "What?!" He asked, and Harry couldn't help chuckling.

"Sorry, its just - you looked so cute, then." Colour rose to his cheeks. He wasn't used to admitting that he even liked Draco, let alone attracted to him. 

"And _you_ look damned cute when you blush, Harry," Draco drawled, then stood aside. "So what are you waiting for?" Harry walked into the Slytherin common room, and sat down on what had become his favourite seat - a comfy, velveteen sofa in a shade of green that matched his eyes. Draco sat down next to him, after moving a textbook of the chair. 

"Been revising?" Asked Harry, reading the title of the book. It was a potions book. 

"Yeah, I want to keep ahead in Snape's class. Plus, it's really interesting." Harry gave him a look. He didn't find Potions at all interesting. More frustrating and annoying. "Hey, just because he doesn't like you, doesn't mean some of us can't get a good mark. Some of us work at it, too," Draco added, but without venom. His smile took the edge away. 

"What do you plan on telling people?"

"About?"

"About us, stupid."

"Is there an 'us', Harry?"

Harry paused, looking at the other boy. It was true, they hadn't done anything other than be friends over the holidays. But he did want more. And with Draco looking at him like that, so seriously, with that small frown on his face... An urge to kiss him rose in Harry, and he decided to do it, now, before his courage left him. Leaning forward, he touched his lips with his own, softly at first, then harder, more passionately as Draco responded. The two boys parted, breathing heavily. A smile curved Harry's lips. That was his first real kiss. It was nice. He could see why people did it so much. And Draco still looked wonderful - more so, with his dishevelled hair, and the shocked look on his face. Then Draco smiled too. 

"I guess that's your answer. I'm glad." Draco took Harry's hand, almost shyly. "I don't really know what our relationship has to do with anybody. Crabbe and Goyle already know. And everyone else'll probably guess when they see us together," he gave a dazzling grin. "What are you going to tell Granger and Weasley?"

Harry shook his head, shrugging. This was what he'd been wondering about. Hermione would be surprised, but would probably give them her blessing when she'd gotten used to it. But Ron was a different matter. He _hated_ Draco with a vengeance. Not to mention the fact he'd probably think Harry's being bi was just another way to get attention. Harry frowned. 

"I have to idea how to tell them. Especially Ron."

"Maybe you should just let him see us kissing?"

A shudder ran down Harry's back at the thought of what Ron might do at that. "No, I've got to tell him. But I can't think of a way to do it without him going mad."

"Just tell him," Draco said, sitting back and bracing a leg on the table. "If he has issues with it, that's his problem."

Harry looked at him, still worried, but not able to think of any better way to tell his best friend. 

Reaching over to stroke his face, Draco smiled. "Don't worry, Harry. Everything'll be okay."

"Really?" He asked, knowing he couldn't really know.

"We'll make it okay," the Draco grinned, this time instigating the kiss himself, then he stood. "You better get back to your common room if you want to get there before Weasley."

"Ron, Draco. Crabbe and Goyle might be happy being called by their surnames, but my friends aren't. They're Ron and Hermione."

Draco shrugged. "Sure, Ron and Hermione. Whatever. Now get gone." He pulled Harry to him for on last kiss, then pushed him out of the common room. Walking down the corridors, Harry frowned. He was still worrying about what to tell Ron. Entering the Gryffindor common room, he walking slowly up the stairs to the boys dormitory. And stopped dead when he saw Ron, sat on his bed and pulling off his jumper, one like his mother made every year with an 'R' on the front. He grinned at Harry. 

"Hey, Harry. Have a good Christmas?"

"Er - yeah. Pretty good."

"Get anything nice?"

"Er-" Harry was blushing scarlet now, and made an excuse to go and sit in the common room for a moment. He was delighted to see Hermione walk in. She looked surprised for a moment, then smiled and asked the same questions Ron had asked. She then frowned. 

"Are you alright, Harry? You look - worried."

"Hermione, I - oh God, how do I tell you this? I - Me and-" _Argh, I can't say it._ "Me and Draco, we, well, I think we're going out." Harry's cheeks were burning, and the look on Hermione's face didn't help. She looked surprised, and suspicious, as though expecting the punchline to come any moment. "I'm serious, Hermione."

Her eyes widened, and then she gave a smile, looking a bit shocked. "I was wondering what there was between you two. I knew there was chemistry, but I never guessed it was that kind!" She smiled and hugged Harry. "Oh, congratulations! Though this'll take some getting used to… I suppose he's not so horrible after all?"

"No, he's not." Harry said, feeling protective. Over the holidays, he'd found a lot out about Draco Malfoy. Like he was terrified of his father. Like he didn't care whether his classmates were Muggle-born or pure blood, but if he better act like he did if he didn't want a beating from his father. And beatings in the Malfoy household came in the form of the Cruciatus curse. Harry looked at Hermione. "How the hell do I tell Ron?"

Cocking her head for a moment, Hermione shrugged. "I really don't know. Ron can be an idiot sometimes, but you're his best friend, Harry. He'll understand."

"Understand what?" Ron asked, appearing from the staircase. "What's up, Harry? Are you okay?"

"He's just got something to tell you," Hermione said, walking off up to her room. Harry stared after her in terror and anger. How could she leave him in this situation!? He looked at Ron, who was looking at him questioningly. Harry's anger at Hermione dissipated. 

"Ron, I don't know how you're going to take this. But just be quiet, okay, 'til I've said it, or I don't think I'll be able to." Taking a deep breath, and staring at the floor, Harry started. "Over Christmas, Draco was staying here too. And we sort of got talking. And, well, I - we kind of - kissed - and we kind of - he explained a lot of things. He's not such a bad guy, and we - I like him, Ron. I really do." Harry got the courage to look up, to see Ron looking at him, expressionless. He then turned and ran up the staircase to the dormitory, and Harry heard the door slam. Sitting down heavily, Harry put his head in his hands. That hadn't gone the way he'd planned it to. 


	3. Hurt and Happiness

Unexpected   
Part Three

Well, what do you guys think about the direction this is going in? This part is a bit glum, but there are some fluffy bits, too. And a bit of a mystery develops, too...

All characters are JK's and the WB's.

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Walking down to class the next day, Harry saw Draco and smiled miserably. 

"Weasley not take it well, then?" Harry looked at him glumly as an answer. Draco squeezed his hand. "Well, don't worry about it. I told you, it's his problem."

"Yeah, but he's my friend, Draco. I-" They'd reached the dungeons, and the chatter that had been going on before they arrived stopped, and everyone was staring at the two boys' entwined hands. Draco glared at them. "Is there a problem? You never seen two people hold hands before? Or maybe-"

It was lucky, most probably, that Ron walked in just then. Harry didn't want Draco to make enemies of his fellow Slytherins, much as he disliked them. But the look Ron gave the two of them wasn far from pleasant. It hurt. It was a look of disgust and betrayel, with deep hatred burning in his eyes. He felt Draco squeeze his hand again before walking over to Crabbe and Goyle, who were his partners in Potions. They'd decided over Christmas that there was no point in them partnering up, because Snape's hatred of Harry far outweighed his like of Draco, and there was no point in them both getting bad marks. Besides, Crabbe and Goyle would fail miserably if Draco wasn't there to help them, even with Snape's bias towards his own house. Harry paused, then walked over to Hermione and Ron. Hermione smiled at him, and Ron scowled. 

"That was very brave of you, Harry," Hermione said. "Though, I must say, very strange to see." She chuckled, with a sweet smile Harry hadn't seen before. "The two of you look really cute together, you know." Hearing that, Ron walked off without speaking, to stand with Dean and Seamus. 

"What's his problem?" Harry hissed, starting to get mad at Ron. "I told you he'd be like this, Hermione," he said, and she squeezed his arm. 

"Just give him time, Harry. I'm sure he'll come around to the idea. You must admit, its pretty strange to see two people who you thought hated each other going around holding hands. Just imagine if you saw Sirius holding hands with Snape!" With a sharp intake of breath, Hermione slapped a hand over her mouth. Following her line of sight, Harry saw that Snape had just come along and was glaring at Hermione. "Oh, he heard me, Harry! He must have done. Oh, we're going to pay for this," she whispered, almost panicky at the thought that Snape might not give her full marks. Harry couldn't hide his smile. But, he supposed she was right. Seeing him and Draco together must be a big shock. Harry'd probably feel the same way if he saw Snape and Sirius kissing. _If not just black out from the horror of it all,_ Harry smirked. Sitting down next to Hermione, he gave a quick smile at Draco, then looked over at Snape, who was glaring around the class. Neville joined them, looking over at Snape, terrified.

"This term we start the work for your OWLs. I suggest you at least try to get it right, or you'll fail miserably." He looked over at Neville pointedly. "Get out your books and turn to the section on Potent Potions. You will be making a Wiggenweld Potion and I expect you to know how to do it before I return to the room." He walked over to the door and held it open. "Miss Granger, if I could have a word with you outside?" He said, sounding too calm. Hermione looked at Harry, eyes wide in terror. It seemed he had heard her, after all. Watching her go, Harry then opened his book and turned to the section. He tried to read it, not wanting to get it wrong, but was distracted by his classmates whispering and pointing at him and Draco. He watched as Draco glared at them then stood. 

_Oh, don't,_ Harry thought silently, but didn't say anything aloud. One of them would have to say something eventually, and it was probably better if Draco spoke to the Slytherin's. 

"Look, stop gossiping, you girls," he glared at the Gryffindor boys, most especially Ron. "Me and Potter came to a truce over Christmas. And now we're going out. If you've got a problem, take it up with Crabbe and Goyle. They'll solve it for you." He gave a nasty little smile. "Now, you better do some work before Snape gets back - you really do need all the help you can get." He sat down again, and there was silence for a few moments. Then the chatter started up again, louder and more shocked than before. Neville looked at him, wide-eyed.

"Really, Harry?" He asked, and Harry nodded. 

"Yeah, Neville. I suppose you're going to have a go at me, too?" Harry was getting annoyed now. What did it have to do with any of them? Didn't they have anything better to talk about?

"No, I just thought..." He trailed off, but Harry caught his glance over at Ron. 

"What?" But he didn't get Neville's answer, because just then Snape and Hermione returned to the room. Harry was glad to see that she didn't look about to cry, but instead looked surprised. She had that funny, sweet smile on her face again. 

"What'd he want?" Whispered Harry, while Snape was giving them instructions on the ingredients for the potion. 

Hermione shook her head. "I promised I wouldn't tell, Harry."

Harry stared at her. What on earth was going on? Snape and Hermione having secret chats and she couldn't tell him what they'd talked about? The world was going mad. 

The three of them worked together pretty well that lesson. Hermione and Harry managed to stop Neville making any big mistakes, though his shaking throughout the class didn't really help. Their Wiggenweld potion as a great success. It was a draught to restore vitality, and after taking a sip, Harry felt as though he could take on Ron, even - especially - if it meant punching him. 

For the rest of that morning, Ron worked with Dean and Seamus, and they didn't see him at lunchtime. Harry wasn't sure if he was mad or just exasperated.

"I told you, Harry, just ignore him!"

"I've got Divination next," Harry moaned. "I can't ignore him there. And anyway, Hermione, I'm sick of this. Can you talk to him, see what his problem is?"

She sighed, then nodded. "I'll try. But I don't promise any results. You know what he's like." Sighing, Harry stood and left for Divination. Another disasterous lesson. Ron ignored him, and Professor Trelawny did her annual Harry's-going-to-die prediction. Add that to the fact that everyone was still staring at him, and that Trelawny's incense was giving him a headache, and it was Harry's worst class of the year so far. After class, Harry walked to the Quidditch trophy room. He'd agreed to meet Draco there after the afternoon lessons, before dinner. And he needed to see him. 

Entering the room, he smiled to see Draco looking into one of the glass cases. Seeing him, all his tension and stress melted away. Just being in his company made Harry feel instantly better. He walked over and wrapped his arms around Draco's waist, and looked at their reflections in the glass. Hermione had been right. They did make a cute couple. Draco turned in the circle of his arms and kissed him softly, stroking his cheek. 

"You sorted Weasley's problem out for him, yet?"

"Let's not talk about Ron, Draco," Harry said, leaning forward to kiss Draco softly. "Mmm," he sighed. "I like this. Just being with you, alone."

"Alone, Potter? Got something in mind?" Draco's grin was wicked, and Harry couldn't resist the challenge it represented. 

"Yeah, actually. This." Leaning forward, he kissed Draco properly, passionately. He really did like it. A shame he'd only recently found out how much fun it was. A few moments later, they pulled apart, breathing heavily, then Draco pulled away, walking towards the window, where the stars were starting to come out. 

"It's a beautiful night, Harry," he said softly. 

"Yeah," Harry said, and Draco wrapped an arm around his waist and Harry leaned his head on Draco's shoulder. He hadn't realised Draco was taller than him before. Smiling, he realised he felt safe here. Safe, and accepted, where he was just Harry, not famous Harry Potter or the Boy Who Lived. Just Harry, happy and safe with his boyfriend. 

"You're beautiful, too, Harry," Draco said, as he looked at him. "Just then, I don't know what you were thinking, but you were the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." 

"I was thinking about how happy I am with you." Draco's eyes widened, and he smiled shyly. 

"Really?" Harry nodded, running a hand through Draco's soft, blond hair, then down his cheek. Kissing again, they then pulled reluctantly away. "We need to go to the Great Hall," Draco said, and Harry nodded. 

"Yeah. And I need to talk to Ron." He shook his head, holding Draco's hand and heading for the door. 

"What are you going to say?"

"Just ask him why he's being like this. Why he can't just be happy for us."

"Maybe he's just homophobic, Harry. A lot of wizards are."

Harry stared at him. His best friend, homophobic? No, he couldn't be. He wouldn't be so bigoted, so _stupid_... Would he? "I'll talk to him," Harry repeated, though he was worried now about the outcome of that talk. 


	4. Surprises

Unexpected  
Part Four

In which one mystery is solved and another deepens...

This one's for Daniel, good luck with Rhys, honey pie :)

All is JK's and the WB's

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Walking to the Gryffindor table, smiling goodbye to Draco, Harry sat down next to Hermione, no sign of Ron anywhere. He didn't bother to ask where he was. He didn't care. Was Draco right? Was he really homophobic? Harry shuddered. He'd thought he knew Ron well enough, that he'd never hate someone for such a stupid reason. He was the one who went mad at Draco for calling Hermione a mudblood. Wasn't this exactly the same thing? And if he wasn't homophobic, then what _was_ his problem?

"Are you all right, Harry?" Asked Hermione, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. 

"Yeah, I guess," Harry gave a weak smile. "I was just wondering..." Trailing off, Harry remembered Neville had been about to say something to him in Potions about Ron. Maybe that had something to do with this? Glancing up at the table, he frowned. Neville wasn't here either. He shook his head in exasperation. It looked like the Ron situation wasn't going to get sorted out any time soon. 

"Are we going to revise in the common room after dinner?" Hermione was asking. 

"Revise for what!?" Harry asked, panic setting in. 

"For the exam next week that Professor Flitwick set us," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, Harry, are you taking this year seriously?"

"I am, Hermione. But I need to sort a few things out first."

She gave him a smile and patted his arm. "You know Ron can be a stubborn idiot, Harry. He's probably waiting in the dormitory right now for you to make the fist move."

"And say what? Apologise? Because I like Draco? I don't think so."

"One of you has to do something," Hermione said, a tone of lecture coming into her voice. Groaning inwardly, Harry remained silent. he didn't need that on top of everything else. Picking at his steak pie, he thought about the lessons today. He didn't remember a thing about them. He wanted to take this year seriously - he knew it was important. But he had so many other things on his mind at the moment. Maybe he should just go and revise with Hermione, and let Ron sort himself out. Sounded a good idea for tonight, anyway. The only problem was that he still had to share a dormitory with Ron, so would have to at least see him. Well, he'd try not to kick him if he was asleep. Draining his pumpkin juice, he turned to Hermione, then paled to see Snape walking towards him. Oh, what had he done now?

"Potter," Snape said, sounding almost - nervous? Or conflicted, as though he didn't really want to say what he was about to. "If you ever need to - talk. About anything. You know where I will be." With that said, he walked out of the Great Hall. Harry stared after him unbelieving. 

"What the- Was that a Boggart or something?" He asked, turning to Hermione - and stared again. She was smiling after Snape with an odd, silly look in her eyes, and then sighed. "I've really, really missed something, haven't I?"

"What?" Hermione seemed to come back to herself. "Oh, stop it, Harry. Snape is just trying to help you out. Malfoy - er, Draco - is his favourite student, after all." Her lips thinned at that. She didn't like anyone else being teachers pet. That was her job. Standing, she looked down at Harry. "So, shall we revise?"

"I don't have anything better to do," muttered Harry, and followed Hermione to Gryffindor tower. They walked there in a comfortable silence, wonderful compared to the gossiping that had followed him all day everywhere he went. Even at dinner, he'd seen people pointing at him, and Ginny looking at him mournfully. He felt sort of sorry for her. He _did_ like her, just not the way he liked Draco. 

The portrait swung forward as Hermione said the password, and the two walked into the common room. Sitting there, talking in low voices, were Neville and Ron. Ron looked at Harry as he walked in, then glared at Neville and pushed past Harry, silently stalking out of the common room.

Folding his arms, Harry looked sternly at Neville. "What was that about?" He asked, and Neville frowned. 

"He told me not to tell you. But-" He glanced at the back of the portait where Ron had gone. "I suppose I better had, if he won't." Glancing at Hermione, Harry sat, Hermione in a chair opposite Neville. "I don't know why on won't tell you. I think he's just embarressed," Neville said with a shrug. "And now you're going around with Malfoy like that."

"Get to the point, Neville," Harry said, wishing people would call Draco by his first name, purposefully ignoring the fact he had done the same.

"Well, if you want to know, Ron likes _you_. He's been going on about it all year. Acting like him and you are going out." Harry stared open mouthed at Neville. 

"Ron's-" He stood, feeling angry and relieved and annoyed all at the same time. He sat down again, and looked at Hermione questioningly.

She shrugged. "I had no idea."

Frowning, Harry wondered what he should do. He had a reason to confront Ron now. But - did he want to? He didn't like Ron like that - Ron was his best friend. But why had he been acting as if he and Harry had been going out - without so much as a whisper to Harry? He sighed, and stood again.

"Do you know where Ron's gone?" Harry asked Neville. The other boy shook his head. 

"No, but he was pretty angry. He might have gone after Malfoy."

Harry turned and ran out of the common room, yelling "His name's Draco!" 


	5. Resolution

Unexpected  
Part Five

This one's for everyone who reads my stuff - thank you! And please review!

Yes, it is slash - don't like it, don't read it. 

And of course, it's JK's and the WB's. Not mine :P 

* * *

Harry ran out of the common room, then skidded to a halt. Where was he planning on going? Ron wouldn't start a fight in the Great Hall, would he? Or maybe he'd gone to the Slytherin common room? Walking fowards, still not sure where he was going, Harry realised his head was spinning. His best friend liked him - had been telling everyone that they were a couple! - but hadn't told him. Harry frowned, putting his hands in his pockets. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. He was angry, but as well, it was sort of sweet. Harry blushed. 

"I don't need this," he muttered. The corridors were still deserted, but he decided it was best if he went to the Slytherin common room, as that was probably where Ron would go to fight Draco. 

_Why did this have to happen?_ Harry thought. _Why couldn't Ron just be happy for us and go off and marry Hermione or something?_ It was annoying, being the object of two people's affections. A smile spread across Harry's face. Annoying, yes, but it kind of felt good. He'd gone through so much at school, people liking him, hating him, jealous of him - but he'd never been fancied before. At least, he didn't think so. But maybe they did. The smile widened as he wondered about that one. 

Drunk on his own ego, Harry was too busy fantasising about the many, many boys and girls at Hogwarts that were in love with the Boy Who Lived to notice he was about to walk into Goyle.

"Ow," he said, holding his injured nose, then his eyes widened as he stepped around Goyle to see what was happening. Ron was punching Draco, who was doing a pretty good job of retaliating. All fantasies of the two of them trying to court him vanished as he realised the two hated each other far too much and were just trying to kill each other instead.

Ducking in, Quidditch-trained reflexes coming in handy, Harry grabbed Draco, and Goyle grabbed Ron. It was lucky that Goyle was so big, otherwise he wouldn't've been able to keep the madly flailing boy back. Draco was breathing hard, but staying back. Frowning, Harry dabbed at a cut on his cheek. 

"Are you alright?" 

Draco looked at him, pale eyes hurt. "Why didn't you tell me?" He pulled away from Harry and took a step back.

Blinking, not understanding, Harry then looked over at Ron, green eyes narrowed. "What have you told him?" His voice was low, and he couldn't remember ever having been this angry. "What have you ben telling _everybody_? What right do you have to go spreading lies, Ron? What the hell's the matter with you?" Ron had stopped struggling in Goyle's grip, and was now just looking over at Harry, eyes shining with tears. 

"What else could I do?" He asked. "How did I know you might ever be interested in me?"

"So you told everyone else instead of me?!"

"Alright, so it was a stupid damn thing to do! But I couldn't tell you!" 

Harry was still too angry to speak to Ron civilly, so he turned instead to Draco. 

"What did he say to you?"

Draco still looked hurt, suspicious. "He said that you two had been together before. That you - that you loved him, not me. That really hurt, Harry," Draco too, looked almost like he was about to cry. "Because I love you," he whispered, for Harry's ears only, and lifted a hand up to smooth Harry's permanantly messy hair. "Are you saying its not true?" He asked. "Please, tell me it's not."

"It's not," Harry said, heart in his throat. "It's not. I've never been in love before." His voice was as low as Draco's, and he felt as though his heart might burst.

"Before?" The boy's eyes lit up with hope. Harry gazed at him, Ron forgotten, and a smile came to his face. 

"Yeah. Before I fell in love with you." Leaning forward, he kissed Draco softly, and realised it was true. That he'd never felt this way before, and that he never wanted to feel any other way, be anywhere else but with Draco Malfoy. But there were things that needed sorting out, now that he was a bit calmer. He turned to Ron, still being held by Goyle.

"We need to talk, Ron," he said, folding his arms, biting his lip, trying not to feel sorry for his friend. He had lied, the whole thing was his own fault. If he'd told Harry before, who knew what might've happened? 

"Alright," Ron said, seemingly defeated. "But I'm not promising anything," he said, with a glare in the direction of Draco. 

"And neither do I," sneered Draco, and Harry sighed. He doubted the two would ever get on, or even manage to be civil to one another, for that matter. Goyle let Ron go, looking at him suspiciously, and the two Gryffindors walked back to the common room in silence. There were quite a few people in there, so Harry led Ron upstairs to the empty dorm room and sat on his bed. Ron sat on his own, still looking forlorn, and wouldn't look at Harry. 

"Tell me what all this is about, Ron," he said quietly.

Ron still wouldn't look at him. "Neville told you, didnt he?"

"I asked _you_, Ron. I want to hear your side of the story - and it better be good," he added. He was still angry, and wasn't about to let Ron forget it. 

"How do you expect me to act?" Ron asked, glaring at Harry now. "You suddenly turn up, telling me you and Malfoy are an item - how did you expect me to react?"

"I didn't expect you to go bloody ballistic and hit him!" Harry stopped and closed his eyes for a moment, calming himself. "Look Ron, why didn't you ever tell me you liked me? Why did you tell everyone else but me?"

"Because I couldn't, Harry. I mean, you never gave any indication you liked blokes. You spend half the time staring at Cho Chang, so I figured that meant you were straight." He shrugged, still not looking at Harry. "I really don't know why I told everyone. It just seemed I had to tell someone. And at least I know Dean and Seamus aren't homophobic, 'cause I caught them kissing-"

"What?" Exactly how much had Harry missed? Did he just walk around with his eyes closed all the time, or was he just really, really dense?

"-so I told them. And they said they were glad for us."

"But there's no us, Ron."

"I know. But there could've been." He sounded so wistful, and he'd finally looked up at Harry. There was such longing in those blue eyes, and Harry did finally feel sorry for him. 

"Yeah, there could've been. You should've said something, Ron. Even if I wasn't interested, at least you'd've known."

"Could there have? Been something, I mean?"

"If it wasn't for Draco, yeah, maybe. But I meant what I said to him."

"You love him." Anger - as well as that wistfulness again.

This time it was Harry's turn to look away. He didn't want to hurt Ron, but he wouldn't lie to him. There might have been something - Ron was quite good looking, and had lovely, expressive eyes. And he _was_ his best friend, after all. But no, he wasn't Draco, and could never be what Draco was to him. A shame, really. 

"Can we still be friends, Ron?"

Ron looked over at him, still looking hurt, but managed to smile. "Yeah, that'd be nice." He stood, walked to the door, then quickly turned to Harry and kissed him on the lips, before leaving and walking off. Harry stared after him. That was be odd. But just Ron's way of ending it all. And it had been kind of nice. Standing, Harry picked up his Charms book to go downstairs and revise with Hermione - but the strange thing was, he couldn't get the memory of Ron's lips on his out of his mind... 


	6. Love?

Argh, I didn't HTML the last part properly and I only have it saved at uni... Will teach me to use floppy disc's next time :P Will reload it on Thursday.

This is dedicated to the ppl who are reading this. And there will be a happy ending, don't worry - as for what it'll be, well, keep reading ;) 

'S'all JK's and the WB's 

* * *

Unexpected   
Part Six 

* * *

"Is there a reason I'm not understanding this?" Harry asked, frowning at his notes from the Charms class that afternoon. Looking over at him, Hermione raised her eyebrows and took the parchment from him.

"Probably because it doesn't make sense," she said, sighing theatrically. "Here, lend my notes and copy them down."

"Wow, thanks," Harry said, grabbing his quill and scribbling them down quickly. It wasn't often Hermione let anyone so much as look at her work, so he wasn't going to give her chance to change her mind. He didn't notice as Hermione leaned over, and nearly jumped out of his skin as she whispered in his ear. 

"So you and Ron sorted things out, then?" Harry looked at her, then swallowed, feeling heat rise to his face.

"Er, yeah." He glanced over at the red-head, talking with Seamus and Dean, looking far happier now. He was glad of that, and would be gladder still if he could get the damn memory of that kiss out of his head. Ah, well, he'd go find Draco later - that'd solve _that_. He grinned, still blushing, and looked back to his paper, copying down Hermione's ridiculously neat writing. 

"Thinking of Draco," she asked, smiling. "Ah, its sweet, you know. Young love," she added, giggling.

Rolling his eyes at her, he grinned. "Why is it that you're so interested in my love life? Why don't you go get your own?"

It was Hermione's turn to blush, now, and she looked up at Harry smiling shyly. For a moment, all those fantasies about being the most fancied boy at school came back, but then she spoke. "I plan to. And maybe it'll get someone off your back," she added, and Harry wondered who she meant. 

_Maybe that's what she and Snape were talking about?_ He wondered idly, then looked up at Hermione, still blushing lightly, writing notes. _Nah. Can't be. Can it?_ He shook his head slightly, deciding it couldn't be - it was far too gross. How could _anybody_ go for Snape? 

Finishing writing up his notes, he read through them. It seemed easy enough. Just some simple locomotion charms. Taking his wand from his pocket, reading the notes carefully, he pulled a goblet to him and spoke the spell. 

"Kinesia." The goblet gave off a puff of smoke. Maybe it wasn't so easy, after all. If only he'd been paying attention, maybe that would've helped.

"You're saying it wrong," Hermione said, not looking up from what she was writing. Glaring at her, Harry looked at the notes again, then opened his book and looked the charms up in there. It took a few tries, but the goblet eventually moved a few centimetres. 

Sighing, Hermione pulled the goblet over to herself. "Really, Harry. That was very unimpressive. You'll have to try harder than that." Raising his eyebrows, Harry waited for her to do better. She didn't disappoint. As she spoke the word of power, the goblet did a figure of eight and then moved toward Harry. 

"Show off," he muttered. 

"You have to visualise how you want it to move, Harry, weren't you listening to Professor Flitwick?"

"Er," Harry said, then closed his book, standing. "I'm going to go find Draco."

Looking at him very disapprovingly, Hermione shook her head. "This test is important, you know, Harry." 

Shrugging, Harry tried to smooth his hair back a bit, trying to look presentable. "I'll do it when I get back. Didn't you say it wasn't for a few days?"

"It's next week. But you obviously need to practice, Harry!"

"I'll be back in an hour, okay? Then I'll do loads of revision." She sighed, but went back to her work. Walking out of the common room, Harry pulled his robes more tightly around himself. It was getting cold now, as well as getting dark earlier. He paused outside the Slytherin common room, wondering whether he should just go straight in. He knew the password, but it'd be too weird to walk in there, with all the other Slytherins about. 

It turned out not to matter, because the portrait swung open, and Pansy Parkinson walked out, looking at him in surprise.

"Oh, you're going to see Draco?" Harry nodded, and she looked at him for a few moments, frowning. "You better not hurt him, you know," she said in a scathing, untrusting voice.

"I have no intention to," Harry said, scowling as he entered the common room. Draco might be alright, but he still didn't like the rest of the Slytherins. 

He'd been right. It was strange, very much so, as he walked into the common room, surrounded by Slytherins he hardly recognised, as well as those he recognised all too well from Potions and Care of Magical Creatures. Forcing himself to ignore them, he spotted Crabbe in the corner and went over to him.

"Where's Draco?" He asked, and was surprised to see Crabbe give a soft smile. Maybe there was hidden layers to the two seemingly-bully boys, too. 

"He's upstairs, helping Goyle with his revision," he said. "But they won't mind being interrupted." He added, with another smile.

Harry walked away, shaking his head. It was strange, how prejudice clouded your judgement of people, made you convinced they were a certain sort of person even though you didn't know them. Draco wasn't a bastard, and Crabbe wasn't as dim or mean as he'd thought. Who knew what other things he could find out if he kept an open mind?

Opening the door to the dormitory quietly, Harry smiled to see Draco, sitting cross-legged on the bed. His eye was always drawn immediately to the blond boy, no matter what else was going on. He was so beautiful, candle light shining on than golden hair, giving a little colour to his pale skin. And he was grinning at Goyle as he was trying to do the same spell Harry had just had trouble with. The idea that Draco was Hermione to Harry's Goyle troubled him somewhat, so he cleared his throat to make his presence known. Draco looked up quickly, suspicious for a moment, then smiled, relaxing as he saw who it was. 

"Glad you came around, Harry," he said, then waved a hand at the puffskein they were practising the locomotion charm on. "Are you any good at this?"

"Er, not really," said Harry, going over to sit on the bed beside Draco. "I've just been going over it with Hermione..." He trailed off and pulled out his wand, hoping he had suddenly mastered it and could show Draco how good he was. 

_Right, visualise how I want it to move._ Concentrating hard, Harry decided the fluffy, yellow pet should move in a figure of eight, as Hermione had made the goblet do. That shouldn't be too hard. Licking his lip, he gripped his wand firmly. 

"Kinesia," he said, and blushed when the puffskein moved just a few inches, but Draco looked impressed. 

"That's not bad," he said, then looked up at Goyle. "You want to try it?" Goyle looked from Harry to Draco, distinctly uncomfortable, then stood. 

"Better go back downstairs," he muttered, muttering some excuse as he went. 

Draco moved do lean against the wall and smiled at Harry. "Things sorted with Weasley now?"

Harry looked at Draco, and for some reason felt strangely reluctant to tell him exactly how they had gone. "Yeah, I think so. I don't know why he did that - told you we were together, I mean. But it doesn't matter." Harry moved over to lay his head in the crook of Draco's shoulder and put his arm around him. He felt Draco's arm move around his waist. 

"I suppose not," Draco said quietly. He was still upset by it, Harry could tell, but wasn't sure what to do about it. Glancing up at the other boy, he smiled, then sat up properly, to move blond locks from ice-blue eyes. 

"I meant it, you know. I do love you." It felt weird to be saying it. If anyone had told him a month ago that he'd be saying that to Draco Malfoy, he'd have thought they were mad. But here he was saying it, and meaning it. And it was worth it for the wonderful smile Draco gave him. 

"Thank you," he said, little more than a whisper. He sounded awed, and he looked at Harry intensely, scrutinising every inch of him. "No-one's ever said that before. I mean, they wouldn't, but-" he paused, and chuckled nervously. "I wonder sometimes, if people are really my friends, if they really like me, or if its just because of my name and my father. They feel they have to." He paused again, then shrugged. "I suppose it shouldn't bother me so-"

"Of course it should," Harry said. "It bothers me, too. You know - being the famous Harry Potter and all. I guess Hermione - and Ron -" he blushed again. "-like me because of who I am - but everyone else, I dunno. I guess we just have to trust our instincts, and hope for the best."

Sighing again, Draco pulled Harry back into a hug. "At least I know you really like me," he said. Harry leant into his embrace, enjoying it. 

"Yeah. We have each other."

"What more do we need?" Draco said, leaning his head onto Harry's, speaking into his hair. Harry agreed almost wholeheartedly, but for some reason, Ron's face floated into his mind... 

* * *

Man, I'm cruel :D More soon :) 

* * *

[ Click here to report possible abuse to staff ] 
1. The Truth Comes Out2. Revelations3. Hurt and Happiness4. Surprises5. Resolution6. Love?


	7. Where I want to be

Okay, we get a little bit of story outside of Harry's love life now! Blimey! What do you think, of interest? Can yer guess who it is, yet? And maybe even a certain third party situation resolved (sort of - too cruel to let it slip entirley at this stage :D).

I think I'll dedicate this chapter to any LJ Smith fans who are reading, as Draco sounds like he looks a lot like Julian in this part. Yum!

Oh, and WARNING! This is slash. So go away if you don't like it.

And, o' course, Ye Olde Diclaimer:It's all JK's and the WB's (who I'd like to thank heartily for the bubbly we're going to get daft off later!) 

* * *

Unexpected   
Part Seven

Laying there in Draco's arms for a moment, Harry looked up at the other boy. He looked wonderful. Soft blond hair, almost white, pale blue eyes, a colour he'd never seen before, like the palest winter sky, currently a little darker than normal as he looked at Harry. Craning his neck slightly to reach Draco's lips, he brushed them softly with his own, before kissing more deeply. Draco was entirely engrossed in the kiss, but Harry still couldn't shift the discomfort he felt at not telling him the truth about his 'discussion' with Ron. Pulling back, he pushed the terror aside, deciding to tell Draco. 

"What's the matter, Harry?" Draco looked concerned as he brushed stray hair out of Harry's eyes. 

Harry continued to watch him for a few moments. He didn't want to hurt Draco, but he couldn't keep a secret from him. He cared about him far too much. 

"I..." He trailed off, not able to put it into words in a subtle, offhand manner. "When Ron and I talked, well, I, he. He kissed me."

Draco gave a completely unexpected reaction to that revelation. He laughed. "He did?" He grinned at Harry, looking at him like a co-conspitator. "Was it good?"

"Not as good as you," Harry said, with feeling. It felt as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and, thankfully, Ron's face kept haunting him. It seemed it was just because he felt guilty about kissing someone else, that he kept thinking about him. Watching Draco as he strectched like a cat, then settled against the pillows, still watching Harry from behind long eyelashes, a wicked smile sat on his lips. "A lot better," he added as he leaned forward to lay on top of Draco and kiss him. They stayed like that for a while, and Harry never wanted it to end. Eventually though, he sat up, sighing. 

"I better go back to Gryffindor Tower," he said, rubbing his neck. Draco looked disapointed.

"Why do you have to go? Can't you wait a bit?"

"Not really. I told Hermione I'd only be an hour, and I don't want a lecture from her."

Draco smirked at that one. "Bet she's pretty annoying with that?"

"You have no idea," Harry muttered, but before he could stand, Draco grabbed his arm. 

"Your neck hurting?" 

"Mmm, a bit. We'll have to try a more comfortable position, next time," Harry said, smiling at the way Draco was looking at him. He was grinning, as though he had a joke that he couldn't quite hide his amusement about. "What?"

"Take your top off," he said, still grinning broadly. 

Harry stared. "Sorry?" Draco reached over, slipped his robe and jumper off, loosening his tie before starting to unbutton his shirt. "Er, Draco, I said I had to go. I think its a bit soon to, y'know, get... intimate." Harry blushed as he said it, and even more so, in astonishment and embaressment as Draco sniggered at him. 

"How did I know you'd say that? You've got a dirty mind, Potter," he said, pulling Harry's shirt off and pushing him face down on the bed. 

"Than what-" Harry startled, slightly scared question was answered as Draco's hands started to rub his back in smooth, hard circles. A massage. Not... Harry blushed again, but pulled his arms up to rest his head on them and closed his eyes. It was nice, Draco's hands working on his back. He was stronger than Harry would've thought. He wasn't much taller or less lean than Harry, but he definately had strength in his hands. Wonderful, glorious strength that eased away the tensions of the last few days. 

"How's that, pervert?"

Harry grinned at him. "_You're_ the pervert, Draco. You started to undress me." Draco raised his eyebrows suggestively before laughing, then going back to kneading Harry's shoulders. "And it's marvellous," Harry moaned as Draco moved onto Harry's neck, firmly massaging the tightness out of it. After a few more moments, his hands left Harry's skin, and he kissed his neck, indicating he was finished. Sitting, Harry smiled. "That was brilliant, thanks." Leaning forward, he kissed Draco before pulling back and putting his tops back on. 

"Hope Granger doesn't tell you off too badly," Draco said, not looking at all repenant. In fact, he looked wonderful. Like an angel - no, more like a devil, with his eyes burning like that. It made Harry feel quite odd, almost wanting Draco to undress him again. Pulling on his robe, blushing at his thoughts, he turned to go. Draco stood to walk him out of the common room. "You want to meet up tomorrow? Before dinner, then we both have time to do some work." He rolled his eyes, looking annoyed. "Bloody OWLs, we have to do some real work this year."

"Tell me about it," Harry muttered as they came to the portrait. Turning to Draco, he kissed him softly, then waved, leaving the common room. Shivering as he stepped into the cold dungeon corridor, he pulled his robe more tightly around him. That had been wonderful. Strange, but wonderful. So many emotions were washing over Harry when he was with Draco, so many new and scary feelings. But he trusted him, more than anyone else.

Heading towards the stairs that would take him up to the main castle, Harry noticed a light down the corridor. Wasn't that Snape's rooms down there? Glancing over, curious, Harry hid behind the wall of the stairs so he wouldn't be seen. A figure - Snape, presumably, come out of the room, wait in the door, Harry then had the shock of his life when he saw another figure approach from the other set of stairs, unseen from Harry's light of sight, and embrace Snape. Who was that!? Someone was going out with Snape!?

Harry squinted, trying to see who it was. But their back was to him, and the light too dim. Whoever it was, they were too tall to be Hermione, thank God. But who on earth was it? The door shut, and Harry ran up the stairs. He had some gossip to tell Hermione and Ron, and couldn't waste a second!


	8. Who's That Girl or boy?

Sorry this has taken a while. Possibly a bit short, too. But the next part will be out very soon - over the next few days. We're getting somewhere with our big mystery, and the rebuilding of Harry and Ron's friendship. No real romance in this one, tho - sorry, guys :) The fluff will return in the next part. 

Again, please review - will encourage me to actually get that next part out soon - and be honest, isn't the suspence killing you?! It is me, and I'm the one writing it :D

ACHTUNG! This is slash. 2 boys in a relationship. If you don't like it, go away, and don't read.

As always, it's JK's and the WB's. 

* * *

Unexpected  
Part 8

Walking into the common room, Harry saw that the fire was lower, and the room a whole lot emptier than when he'd left. That was only to be expected, of course. It was nine o' clock, now, and the younger ones would have gone to bed, and Harry knew that some of the other Gryffindors liked to read lying in bed before going to sleep. 

Noticing Hermione was still in front of the fire, making notes, Harry then looked over to see where Ron was. He was sitting in a corner, reading a Quidditch magazine. Harry watched the red-haired boy intently for a few moments, strange feelings creeping up inside him. He almost felt - embarrassed - to go and talk to him. Shaking his head, he swallowed thickly and went to speak to him. 

_There's no reason everything shouldn't be as it was before. No reason at all._ Walking over to his best friend, he was stopped in his tracks by the longing in his friend's features as he looked up to see who was walking towards him. _Ignore it!_ He commanded himself, and forced a grin.

"Hey, Ron," he started, and cursed himself for the unnatural, nervous high-pitch of his voice. "Um. I've got some gossip. You want to come over near the fire so I can tell you and Hermione?"

Ron glanced over at the fire, and the comfortable seats that lay there, and nodded. "Okay." Ron stood, putting his magazine aside. "So where'd you find this gossip out? Where've you been?"

_Oh, come on. As if you can't guess. You just want to hear me say it so you can get mad at me again, don't you?_

"I can't tell you, that'd spoil the surprise." Hopefully, the shock of his news would cover the fact that he'd been in the dungeons to see Draco. He didn't need Ron to go off on one at him before he got to tell him this. 

The two boys sat down, Harry next to Hermione, Ron on the other side of the table. Finishing her sentence, she looked up, from one to the other. "Yes?"

Harry paused, looking at her for a moment. When he'd last been in the common room, he'd had a very odd, very disgusting thought. A thought about Hermione and Snape. And now he had it again, and things started to add up in his mind. First they had gone outside in Potions class to have a little 'chat'. And then Hermione had said she'd get someone off of his back. That could mean his thought was true. 

"Hermione, have you been here? I mean, did you stay here while I've been gone?"

She gave him a look that told him she thought he'd gone mad. "Of course I have, Harry. I have work to do, you know." Harry was still suspicious. "For heavens sake, Harry." He must have looked like he was suspicious, too. "Ron, have I moved from this spot?"

Shaking his head, Ron too looked at Harry oddly. Harry glared at them both.

"Good." He said, then his thoughts continued. What if Hermione _was_ having some sort of... thing with Snape, and he was two-timing her? _Get a grip, Harry,_ he told himself. _Surely Hermione has some sort of taste._ He glanced up at Ron, to find the other boy looking at him and felt his cheeks heat up in a blush. Steadying himself, he remembered he had some wonderful gossip, and nothing was getting in the way of him telling them.

"I just saw someone going into Snape's rooms. Only, with him there, and they hugged, and - this isn't coming out quite the way I meant it to." Harry sighed again, trying to ignore Ron gazing at him and Hermione glaring. "When I was down in the dungeons, I saw Snape waiting for someone. And then someone came - I couldn't see who - but they seemed pretty close, if you know what I mean. And then they went into his rooms."

"So you think Snape's got a girlfriend?" Ron's eyes were wide. It seemed Harry's plan had worked, and his news had overshadowed the fact he'd been down to see Draco, else Ron just didn't care any more. Ignoring the hurt that thought induced, Harry grinned and nodded, and looked over at Hermione. And was completely taken by surprise when she looked disapproving. She may not like rule-breaking, but this wasn't anything to do with that. He'd have thought she'd be as interested as anyone.

"Harry, do you really think its your business who Professor Snape is in a relationship with?"

Both boys stared at her open mouthed. "Are you kidding?" Asked Ron. "Aren't you interested?"

Though her expression remained the same, Harry was sure he spotted that odd, dreamy look in her eyes that she got when talking about romance in general. Harry's eyes widened. 

"You know," he said, putting it all together and looking at her in astonishment. "That day, when he took you out of Potions - he told you!"

"Harry, why would Professor Snape tell me who he's in love with?" The voice might've been steely and all-suffering, but her eyes betrayed her. Harry had no idea why Snape would tell her, but he had.

"You know! Tell us!"

"Harry, I don't know! And it's still none of your business!" With that, she slammed her book shut, looking thoroughly annoyed with the two of them, and picked up her notes and went up to the girls dormitory.

Harry looked over at Ron, who shrugged.

"Maybe she's got - what do Muggles call it? PVC?"

Harry stared at him. What on earth was Ron talking about? Odd images - not altogether unpleasant - of Hermione running around in a skin-tight PVC catsuit floated around in his head. Then it clicked and he blushed scarlet. "PMT, Ron."

"Yeah, that's it." Then he looked at Harry. "Do you really think she knows? She had a good point - why would Snape tell her anything about his personal life?"

"I don't know. But you want to find out, right?"

Ron nodded. "Sure I do. We'll talk about it tomorrow, though. I'm knackered. G'night, Harry." With that, Ron walked off - but Harry didn't miss the stolen glance at him the other boy took on his way to the staircase. 


	9. The Return of the DADA Teacher

Told you so :) So here it is, the promised next part. I think we're finally getting somewhere here. The mystery of Snape's other half deepens, and we get some fluffiness too. Hurrah!

To Ken-Chan - whether its PMS or PMT depends on which side of the Pond you're on. I'm on the PMS side of it, but it didn't rhyme :D

Disclaimer: It's all JK's and the WB's. You should know that by now! 

* * *

Unexpected  
Part 9

Next morning Harry awoke feeling groggy. Yawning widely, he stumbled out of bed and grabbed his uniform off the chair where he had lain it the night before. Pulling it on, then looking madly around for his tie, he eventually got downstairs to the common room about ten minutes before breakfast would be ended. Starving, he ran to the Great Hall, and skidded to a stop, barely managing to miss crashing into the Hufflepuff table. 

Weaving his way to the Gryffindor table, he found Ron and Hermione. Still feeling tired, he yawned widely and pulled bacon and tomatoes onto his plate. 

"'Morning," he said, looking fixedly at his breakfast and concentrating on getting it down his throat before it disappeared back down into the kitchens.

"You missed the arrival of the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Harry," Hermione said, a disapproving note in her voice. "You aren't getting this term off to a very good start, are you?"

Ignoring her lecture, he finished his breakfast, feeling slightly sick. The last Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher hadn't even lasted a year. It seemed the position was getting even more jinxed. Professor Grey had been a fair enough teacher, but she had gotten pregnant and had left on maternity leave. "Who have we got this time?" He asked as his eyes wandered up to the staff table. There, sitting between Profossor's Flitwick and McGonagall was Remus J. Lupin, their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher from the year before last, and one of his fathers best friends. Grinning, he turned his attention back to his two friends. 

"Cool! This term's going to go great." He paused again, and then smiled self-righteously at Hermione. "See, how can I not do well at his class? He's too brilliant a teacher."

Hermione muttered something, but Harry ignored her. Maybe she did have PMS, she was being annoying even for Hermione. 

Ron grinned at Harry. "And we've got Defence Against the Dark Arts first thing, too."

Putting a hand on his unsteady stomach, Harry nodded, looking thoughtfully up at the staff table. So, Lupin was back. And there was one teacher who _couldn't_ be happy about that. Defence Against the Dark Arts was the one position Snape wanted more than anything. And true to form, he was glaring at Lupin. Harry frowned. But his look had none of the vehemence it had last year. As though he just found him annoying, rather than hating him thoroughly and completely. Maybe they had talked about what had happened in their own school days, found that Lupin hadn't been to blame for Sirius' prank. Harry would have to ask Lupin about it. Or better yet, Sirius. 

With a smile, Harry remembered that his godfather would be visiting the school soon - he hadn't given a specific date, not wanting the Ministry to find out where he was, but Harry hoped it would be soon. He missed him, and wanted to find out all Sirius had found out about Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Though he worried about him, Harry was also immensely proud of Sirius and what he was doing. He had last visited just before Christmas, giving Harry a wonderful present of new Quidditch robes and some stuff the Marauders had used when they were in school. Though he'd left it to Harry to find out how to use them, and he hadn't managed yet. 

Standing, he yawned again, and followed Hermione and Ron to the Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Neville came up to walk with them. 

"It's good that Professor Lupin's back, isn't it? I'll at least get one good mark," he said, looking glum.

"You're good at Herbology too, Neville," Harry reminded him. He felt sorry for the other Gryffindor. Neville did try hard, but he just seemed to find most things impossible.

"But there's no way I'm ever going to pass Potions-"

Neville was interrupted by Professor Lupin's arrival. A few of the Gryffindors seemed a little nervous at his presence, now knowing he was a werewolf, but as they entered the class and got started, all doubts were assuaged. 

They reviewed what Professor Grey had taught them, and gone over the hexes and Dark creatures they would go over for the remainder of the year. That was the best lesson all day, there was no doubt. And Harry was thankful there were no Potions class that day. 

He was still immensely curious as to who it had been going into Snape's rooms, but he wanted to be with Draco, and didn't think he could cope with being in the small dungeon classroom with him without going crazy. They _did_ have Care of Magical creatures, however, and Harry just spent the whole lesson staring at Draco. Perhaps he was trying to look extra wonderful, just to tease Harry. That blond hair kept falling into his eyes, and that cocky smile of his kept curving those delicious lips, and the way those ice-blue eyes kept flicking over to Harry for mere seconds at a time...

Thankful beyond belief when the lesson, and the day finally ended, Harry met Draco and walked to Slytherins common room with him.

"Good day?" Draco asked, slipping his hand into Harry's and smiling at him. 

"It is now," Harry grinned, then pushed Draco against a nearby wall and kissed him deeply, then smiled. "A brilliant day, I'd say."

Chuckling, Draco took Harry's hand again as they started walking. "You had Defence Against the Dark Arts, didn't you?"

"Yeah. It was really good. I'm looking forward to the rest of the year, now."

Draco was regarding him closely. "You felt - safe? With a werewolf teaching you?"

Harry stopped dead and stared at Draco. "Of course I felt safe. He's just a man, you know, until full moon. And even then he's safe, if Snape's making him the Wolfsbane potion again."

"Are you so sure?"

"For God's sake, Draco," Harry said, looking at his boyfriend in despair. "Are you turning out to be the boy I thought you were before Christmas?" The question hurt more than he had thought, that he could be wrong about Draco. 

"No, Harry, I'm not. But... a werewolf? It's kind of scary."

Harry was about to get mad at Draco again, then remembered Ron's reaction to finding out Lupin was a werewolf. It hadn't been nice or pleasant. Maybe Draco just needed to get to know Lupin.

"Well, maybe at first. But give him a chance. For me?"

Draco looked at him, then shrugged. "Okay, Harry. For you. Type O Negative." The password swung the portrait open, and the two boys entered the deserted common room and sat on the sofa close to the fire. Sighing contentedly, Harry relaxed into Draco's arms, and put his own arm around the other boys' waist. 

Looking up at Draco, he saw the fire dancing, reflected in his eyes, and a flame of passion beneath that. Breath taken away by the ferocity of the other boys' attraction to him, he stretched a little so that his lips brushed Draco's. The Slytherin increased the intensity of the kiss, but pulled back when Pansy Parkinson and the other Slytherin girls walked in. Pansy glared at Harry, and the group of girls sat in the common room, whispering. 

Draco didn't sit up, though his arms around Harry's shoulders did feel tense for a few moments after they had entered the room. He eventually relaxed a little. 

"Did your revision go okay last night?" Draco asked, one hand absent-mindedly stroking Harry's hair. 

"Hmm, not bad." Harry wondered for a moment whether to tell Draco about the person he'd seen with Snape, but decided not to. Draco wouldn't be half as bothered as Ron and Hermione, and Harry really wanted a bit of an adventure with his two friends before revision really started, for the end of year OWL exams. "Anyway, how was your day?"

"Okay, I suppose. I had Herbology with the Ravenclaws, and one of the girls Goyle and I were paired up with was such an oaf. She couldn't get a thing right. That Chang girl, their Seeker, was in our group, too, but she was a little better." Harry almost spoke out in Cho Chang's defence. She had been his first big crush, but he hadn't been in a class with her. Draco probably even knew her better than he did. "To say the Ravenclaws are known for their intelligence, you wouldn't guess from the way they act in class, sometimes."

"I don't have any classes with the Ravenclaws," Harry mused, gazing into the depths of the fire. "Just Slytherins and Hufflepuff." Harry smiled. "You know, that's kind of odd, too."

"Hmm?" Draco asked, cheek against Harry's hair. 

"That Gryffindors and Slytherins get put together so much when we're the two houses that get along least."

"I suppose its a little odd," Draco said, shrugging. "But I'm glad they did put us together. Or I wouldn't have got to know you nearly as well as I do." Harry looked up again, and found Draco looking down at him, the fire still in his eyes. A strong, cool hand caressed his cheek, then lifted his chin so that he could kiss him. Harry let Draco kiss him, responding gladly, eagerly. After a good few minutes, the two pulled away breathless, then kissed again, more passionately, Harry holding Draco close to him until they were interrupted by the grating sound of Pansy Parkinson's voice.

"Are you coming to dinner, Draco?" She asked, fluttering her eyelashes at him. If she weren't doing such a terrible job of flirting with Harry's boyfriend, he might've been jealous.

Sighing, Draco sat up. "I suppose so." He glanced down at Harry, then leant over and whispered in his ear. "Don't think I've finished with you, Potter. How about after dinner?"

A shudder ran through Harry's body. He couldn't afford to spend too long - he had a lot of homework to do - but he'd go crazy if he couldn't spend a little longer with Draco tonight.

"I'm yours." 


	10. Alone at Last

I'm so sorry this had taken so long to get posted (and that its so short!). I have the next part written too, but that needs editing so should be up on Monday. As ever, please review!

WARNING! This is slash - two blokes - namely Harry and Draco - in a relationship. If that's not your cup of tea, I suggest you don't read this!

Disclaimer: JK's and the WB's.

* * *

Unexpected  
Part 10

Harry spent most of the dinner staring over at the Slytherin table at Draco. Who kept looking over at him and giving him a secret smile. Harry smiled back, then cast his gaze down to his plate, still smiling, not able to help himself. Reaching over for another chicken wing, Harry glanced up at Hermione, who was fidgeting and frowning. 

"You alright, Hermione?"

"Fine." Harry stared in surprise at her. Hermione was never so short - not with him, anyway. He decided he'd have to have a chat with her later, to check she was okay. Maybe before he went to see Draco. Glancing over at Ron, Ron was talking to his brothers, Fred and George. At least he seemed to have got over his crush on him. Harry couldn't hide his grin at that thought.

His eyes wandered back over to Draco, and looked at him, taking in every inch of him and feeling a silly smile like Hermione wore spread over his face. Draco caught his eye and stood, and Harry grinned, standing quickly. 

"I'll see you guys later, okay?" Harry said, and Ron nodded at him, Hermione just shook her head.

"Just make sure you're back at a reasonable time. We have homework, you know."

"I know, I know," Harry said, walking to the exit where he caught up with Draco. "She can be so annoying," he said, and Draco looked at him in mild surprise. 

"Sorry?"

"Hermione. She's always going on about work - there are more important things," he added, with a sidelong look at Draco and a shy smile. 

Smiling back at him, Draco caught his hand. "Let's go somewhere we won't be interrupted. The Quidditch trophy room?"

"Sounds good. It's turning into our love nest," Harry said with a grin, and Draco laughed, a low chuckle that filled Harry's heart with love for him. Casting his eyes down at the floor, he frowned at his thoughts. He _did_ love Draco, he knew that. But it was kind of scary, the intensity with which he did. Glancing again at his boyfriend, all his doubts were washed away. It might be scary, but above all else it was _right_. He never felt happier or more at home than when he was with Draco, surprising though that may be to the other members of both their houses. 

Walking up the steps, just managing to leap off the last one before it changed, the two of them frowned. 

"Damned staircases. We'll have some bloody fun trying to get back down," Draco said, looking down the many feet to the ground floor.

"Maybe we'll just have to stay up here forever, nothing but each other for warmth," Harry said.

"You turning all romantic on me, Potter?" Draco said with a grin, pulling Harry into his arms. 

"You want me to?"

For a few moments, Draco looked intensely at Harry then smiled, nodding. "Yeah. I do." Bending his head forward, his lips brushed Harry's lightly, and then he pressed his forehead lightly against the Gryffindor's. They stayed like that for a few moments, before reluctantly pulling apart and wandering into the Quidditch trophy room. With surprise, Harry noticed a mass of cushions had been brought up and placed in a corner, along with a blanket, and a few candles. He turned to Draco with a raised eyebrow.

"You turning all romantic on me, Malfoy?"

Draco chuckled and shrugged. "What can I say? having lackey's has to be good for something." He walked over to where the impromptu bed was and lay down, head propped up on several pillows. Harry went and lay next to him, hands behind his head. From where he lay, the sky was visible through the nearby window, stars shining high above, and the room was illuminated by a nearly-full moon. Looking back to Draco, bathed in moonlight, he smiled and leant over to kiss him.

"You're beautiful."

Pale rose spread over Draco's cheek's and he looked down at the floor. "No, I'm not."

Catching the boys chin in his hand, Harry made Draco look at him. "Yes, you are." Moving his hand, he stroked Draco's cheek. "Both outside and in. Would I love you if you weren't?"

"I can't get enough of you saying that," the Slytherin admitted in a quiet voice, a small smile curving his lips. "And even when I hear you saying it, I still can't believe it. You always acted so... cool. You know, famous Harry Potter and all. You're a star, I never thought I'd ever have a chance with you. Even before I realised I liked you like this, I still wanted to be your friend. And I know I probably didn't act in any sort of way that'd get you to like me - but I did try."

Harry thought back to the first time they'd met, in the robe shop. Draco had chatted to him, been friendly. Of course, Harry, having only just found out he was a wizard didn't have a clue about most of the things Draco had been talking about. And the second time they'd met, Draco had offered him a hand of friendship. Smiling ironically, Harry swept a lock of blond hair from the boy's face. "If we'd ever have actually _talked_, instead of just arguing, we could have saved ourselves a lot of grief."

Draco moved in Harry's arms, to settle himself with his head on the Gryffindor's shoulder. "Maybe. But I'm glad we're here now. It's more than enough," he added, grin returning to his face. Leaning up, he kissed Harry, softly at first, then deepening. Pulling back, Draco ran a long finger down the side of Harry's face, sighing. "You're beautiful too, you know."

"Hah."

"I mean it. You've got the most wonderful eyes I've ever seen..." Draco pulled off Harry's glasses and smiled. Harry blinked, eyes adjusting to not having he lenses there, then looked at Draco. The Slytherin was looking at Harry with wonderment in his eyes. 

"What did I do to deserve you?" He asked softly before leaning in for another kiss, lips caressing, tongues brushing. Sighing in pleasure, Harry felt Draco's hands running down his back, and then creeping under his shirt, nails lightly scraping the skin. His mouth moved down to Harry's neck, kissing, then nipping softly with his teeth. Sighing in pleasure, he let unbutton the first few buttons on his shirt, and kisses travelled over to his shoulder. Harry watched him as he nipped at the skin, then pulled back leaving a purple mark. "Marking my territory," Draco said by way of explanation. Laughing slightly, harry pulled Draco on top of him, kissing him deeply, letting his own hand run over the Slytherin's back. They stayed in the Quidditch trophy room for an hour or more, kissing, until they heard the scrape of stone against stone that indicated the staircase had returned. 

"We should go to our common rooms." Harry stood, stretching, then Draco embraced him, kissing him again, then grinning. 

"How about we meet here tomorrow after last lesson?" Harry nodded as they left the trophy room, then watched, feeling wistful and wanting more as Draco walked off towards the stairs to the dungeons. 


	11. His Cup of Tea

Thanks for the reviews, everyone. And to Ryuuko Megami, er, it _can_ be PMT (pre-menstrual tension...) and 'revise' is the English word for 'review' (I'm English and so are they so it gets used :D). Are we having some interPond misunderstandings? Sorry 'bout that, let me know if there're any more, I'll try and explain 'em to y'all. 

Warning! Slash - male on male action (only not really, this _is_ PG-13). So be warned. 

Disclaimer:JK's and the WB's. 'Nuff said. 

* * *

Unexpected  
Part 11

Harry made his way slowly towards Gryffindor tower, his mind on other things - more specifically on Draco. He made him feel - sort of warm inside. Every thought of him made Harry smile. Blushing slightly, he shook his head. He was going all gushy over him, wasn't he? 

_Ah, well. Don't mind,_ he thought, still smiling, thoughts of Draco still running through his head. 

"Hello, Harry."

The voice startled Harry, and he looked up in surprise to see Professor Lupin, smiling softly at him and holding a book in his arms. 

"Oh, hi Professor."

"Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?" He asked, gesturing at his office which was nearby. Harry thought through his options. Homework or catching up with his father's old friend over a cup of tea. No question.

"Sure," Harry said, and followed his teacher to his office. Settling in the nice, comfy chair on the other side of Lupin's desk, he smiled gratefully when he was offered a mug of tea. "Mmm, perfect," he sighed, then looked up at Lupin. 

"How's the last year been, Harry?" There was a look of concern in his eyes as he asked, and Harry wasn't surprised. The year before, he had almost been killed by Voldemort and the Death Eaters. But that seemed so far away now, any danger and disaster far in the distant past. 

"It's been pretty good, actually. I mean, all the lessons have been going okay - I think I could get some okay marks, you know. And-" He paused. Should he tell Lupin about Draco? He shouldn't have any qualms about it, really, but he did feel a little uneasy. For that matter, the thought of telling Sirius was just as bad. He glanced up at Lupin, and felt somewhat indignant to see he looked amused.

"If you're wondering whether to tell me about you and Draco Malfoy's relationship, I've been told."

"Who by?" Harry wasn't sure if her wanted to know, but the question came out anyway. Lupin's smile merely grew broader. 

"By Severus, actually." Harry sat there, staring at the werewolf, dumbstruck. _Snape_, of all people, had been talking to Lupin about him and Draco. Snape didn't even like Lupin. "Apparently, Mr. Malfoy had a chat with him. It seems you're very lucky, Harry."

Harry blushed. "But - you don't mind me - y' know, not liking just girls?"

Lupin patted his hand. "No, Harry. In fact - well, at the moment, I'm..." He trailed off, looking as though he didn't know how to word his sentence. "I'm in a relationship with a man at the moment."

"Oh." That was something of a revelation. He'd had no idea Lupin liked men as well as women. For that matter, now he didn't know he liked women at all. Hell, he didn't even know if _Sirius_ liked men at all. Though, Harry would have to admit, his godfather did seem like a bit of a ladies man. 

"How do your friends feel about it? I mean, as I recall, the last time I was teaching at Hogwarts, you were sort of - enemies."

"Yeah, we were. Like you and Snape," Harry added, by way of explanation. He frowned at the strange look in Lupin's eyes as he said that. "But - it was an act. His dad's horrible to him, and he's got to act like that, or else..."

"I know very well the lengths Lucius Malfoy will go to," Lupin said, lips in a thin line. "But I wouldn't have thought he'd do anything like that to his own son. Perhaps I should have a talk with Albus?" Raising a questioning eyebrow at Harry, Lupin was waiting for his answer. Should he go and see if there was a way of getting Draco out of the Malfoy house, of getting him out of the beatings and the fear?

"Where would he go then?" He asked in a small voice. More than anything he wanted to say yes, wanted to get his boyfriend out of there and away from his father. But he knew Draco wouldn't appreciate his telling Lupin about it, and he didn't want him to end up with some horrible relations like he had. "Let me talk to Draco first," he said, looking up at Lupin. "See what he thinks about it."

Lupin nodded, and gazed down at his cup. 

"Have you seen Sirius lately?" Harry asked, out of a desire to change the subject, as well as a real interest in the whereabouts and wellbeing of his godfather. 

Sitting back, Lupin nodded. "I saw him just before I came here. He's well, and told me to make sure I looked after you. He's in a new relationship too," Lupin added with a smile. "Though I'm sure he'll tell you about it when he sees you next."

"Really? He's coming soon?" Harry smiled. Sirius and he could talk about their new boyfriends (or whatever Sirius had) together - maybe he could give Harry a few tips. 

"Mmm, I think so. He said he'd be here before Valentine's day, anyway," Lupin said, sipping his tea and glancing at his watch. "If you have any homework to do, Harry, I suggest you go now before it gets too late."

Harry fought the urge to ask 'Do I have to?', as he'd seen his cousin Dudley do countless times when it was bedtime. But he doubted Lupin would give in, as his aunt and uncle had done every time with Dudley. Sighing, he finished his tea, and stood. 

"I guess I better go then. Hermione'll only yell at me otherwise." Standing, he walked out of the small office and slowly made his way to the common room, really not wanting to do any work. Ignoring the look from Hermione as he entered the common room, he went upstairs to get his bag from where he had dumped it on returning from the dungeons before dinner. Entering the dorm, he grinned at Ron, sat on his bed.

"Hey, Harry," he said, waving a piece of paper at him. 

"What's that?" Harry walked over to the bed and sat on it, looking at the parchment. Fighting the uncomfortable feeling that sitting near the other boy wrought in him, he frowned. "The Marauders Map?"

"Yeah, Fred and George pointed out a few more passages to me that we never noticed before," Ron said, pointing at a few that led to the dungeons. "We could use these to see who's going out with Snape!"

Harry looked up in surprise at Ron. He'd almost forgotten about that, what with the very pleasant evening he'd just shared with Draco. A smile spread over his face. It would be fun - and interesting, to see who'd be mad enough to be going with Snape. "Cool. Have you told Hermione?"

"Nah, she'd been acting weird all evening. That's why I came up here in the first place."

"I'll go get her," Harry said, and ran downstairs. "Hermione?" He asked, elbows on the table she was leaning on. 

"Have you done your Transfiguration homework yet, Harry?"

"No, but Ron's found something interesting. Something to do with seeing who Snape's 'guest' was," he added in a low voice. 

Hermione's look was very unappreciative. "I told you before, Harry, it's none of your business. And I don't want to be party to your spying," she added, turning back to her work. 

Frowning, about to get mad at her, he decided to just go upstairs and plan the whens and the hows with Ron instead. 


	12. Changes

Okie dokey, here's the next part. I know it's taken nigh on forever, and I apologise. I've been too busy at uni *weeps* Well, anyway. Enjoy, review. 

Oh, and I have a piccie from this story on the web. Check it out at http://www.geocities.com/sugah_cat_stars/dracoharry.jpg You'll have to use that ole copy and paste :D I'll give you the addy for my page when its done and most of the links are live!

Disclaimer:'S'all JK's and the WB's. 

* * *

Unexpected  
Part 12

"Okay. So, if we take this one-"

"No. We'll get seen. It goes past the grill - you know, the one at the front of the class."

"Ron, don't be an idiot. We _are_ to take the invisibility cloak." Harry raised an eyebrow, smiling as Ron looked abashed and grinned, embarrassed. 

"Okay, okay. So we go there." He pointed a long finger at the secret passage they were planning to take. He ran a finger backwards from the dungeons, to the corridors they would have to go down to get there, tracing the way they would go. "And we use the invisibility cloak to get from here to there?"

"Yeah, I think so. We'll have to go after dark - that's when they're likely to be together..." Harry trailed off, looking at their plan, and smiled. Not only would this work, it would likely be amusing and pretty exciting, too. They must be pretty weird to go out with Snape. Now that Hermione was out of the picture, Harry had no idea who Snape's partner was, and so was genuinely interested. He looked up to see Ron staring at him intently. He felt a blush rising to his cheeks when Ron didn't look away.

"You have a nice smile, you know that Harry?" 

_Argh._ He was bringing this up again? Feeling distinctly uncomfortable, Harry stood. Or tried to. Ron grabbed his hand. 

"Hey, I didn't mean that, y'know, sort of... But you do. I was just telling you." There was a sort of desperation in Ron's voice, and Harry bit his lip, then sat. He didn't want to loose Ron as a friend. He'd just have to get used to being looked at like that. He picked up the map and glanced over it again. 

"Well," he said, well aware his voice sounded slightly strained. "We should do it this week. Friday?"

"That's usually when people meet their dates," Ron said, agreeing with a wistful note in his voice. 

"Okay. At ten. We'll meet up downstairs." The atmosphere in the room was almost palpable. Ron was still looking at him intently, and Harry was starting to get more and more uncomfortable. "Uh, I need to go get the homework McGonagall set us done. You done it?"

"Nope. Bet Hermione has, though," Ron grinned, and Harry's unease slipped away. Ron was back, the scary but kind of attractive red head who fancied him was gone. That was the way he liked it. Standing, finding his bag and some parchment, they went downstairs. It wasn't a big surprise when Hermione wouldn't help them, but they managed to get it done since Harry had managed to take notes, since Draco wasn't in his Transfiguration class to distract him. 

* * *

The next day went quickly enough. Nothing major happened, just a series of lessons with no Draco to make Harry pine for him. After last lesson, Harry nearly ran towards the Quidditch trophy room. When he got there, he saw that he was alone, and that the blanket and cushions were still there. Settling down to get comfortable, Harry nearly died when a voice spoke, almost in his ear.

"I see you have found somewhere you can be private?" Turning, Harry saw the headmaster, looking amused with a cup of cocoa in his hand. Not able to think of anything to say in reply to that, he just stared. "I don't blame you. I remember finding your mother and father up here so they could be alone. Perhaps it runs in the family."

His mother and father had used this place as well? A strange coincidence - but perhaps not. His father had loved Quidditch as much as either he or Draco did, which meant he was likely to find it. He didn't bother to mention to Dumbledore that it was Draco who had found this place, rather than he. Something important did come to mind, though. "I- We can still stay here, can't we?" This had quickly turned into Harry's mind as his and Draco's place. Where they could be truly alone together, where there were no looks of disgust or jealousy, where they could have noone but each other for company. 

Dumbledore nodded. "Of course, of course. I wouldn't presume to take your private place from you. I merely wanted to talk to you for a moment."

_Oh._

"I know about the relationship you are in with Draco Malfoy-" Harry was about to interrupt and defend him, but Dumbledore held up his hand. "No, no, I won't try to lecture you. I just wish to point out that Draco is neither as angelic as you see him, nor as demonic as much of the school sees him. I know who he is, but not nearly as well, I wager, as you. I know his father is likely not the easiest person to live with - and I care for the welfare of my students. I just thought I'd tell you that, Harry," he said, before nodding and walking off, singing to himself.

Looking after him, frowning, Harry wondered exactly what that had been about. Had Lupin gone and told him, even though Harry had asked otherwise? Shaking his head lightly, he didn't think so. If Lucius Malfoy had been to this school, Dumbledore must know him. harry remembered the few times he'd met him. They were enough that he had got the impression that he was completely, dangerously mad, and most certainly not someone to mess with if at all possible. He was worried about Draco, and it seemed Dumbledore was. He'd have to bring the question of whether he wanted to get away from his parents tonight. At least then he'd have a chance to get used to it before he had to go home again.

_As well as-_ For the second time in the space of ten minutes, Harry was scared nearly witless - though this time by a kiss on the cheek. Draco smiled dangerously at him, and sat in one graceful movement onto the cushions next to him. Before Harry could say or do anything, he pulled him into a deep kiss that left Harry breathless and unable to think for a few moments. 

"I missed you," Draco said, running a finger down Harry's face. "Every lesson, I wanted so badly to be with you..." He sighed. "But we're together now. I have the next couple of hours with you." There was something in his eyes that Harry couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Are you okay?" He asked, worried.

"Ah, yeah." He leaned back, putting his arms behind his head. "I just won't be able to see you this weekend. I'm off home. Got a letter in the post this morning."

Harry stared. "But - how-"

Draco looked at him with clear eyes, devoid of all but passion. "My father's an important man, harry. What he wants, he gets." His voice was lustful, and a seductive smile curved his lips. The smile turned to an equally seductive grin, and he swung his leg over Harry's to straddle him. "It's a Malfoy family trait," he muttered as he leaned forward, lips brushing Harry's face, feather-light over eyes, cheeks, lips. The kiss slowly got more passionate, completely at Draco's pace. Harry's attempts at making it deeper were useless - Draco was completely in control. Eventually, Harry was gasping at how good Draco was making him feel. Kisses, caresses, words all combining to make him completely forget anything else. Draco undid his shirt, slipped it off. Harry shivered in the cold air, but just watched intently what Draco was doing. Lips joined hands in the caresses, teeth scraping lightly against flesh, tongue warm and wet against his sensitive nipples, making him moan. 

"Oh, Harry," Draco said, voice deep and rich. He kissed him again, nails scraping down his back, then embraced him tightly. Harry got his breath and sanity back as they sat there, hugging each other, and closed his eyes. 

"That was amazing, Draco," he said, barely more than a whisper. The other boy didn't look up. "You make me feel so good - better than anything else. Better than anyone ever could."

"You're mine, aren't you Harry?" The question came as a surprise. Harry blinked a few times. 

"Of course. You know I am."

"And... and it doesn't matter about who I am? You don't want anyone else?"

Harry shook his head slowly. "I don't want anyone else," he said, then frowned. "But I don't understand. What do you mean, who you are?"

Draco's smile became dangerous. "Son of an insane Death Eater. The ideal Slytherin. Don't argue that Harry - you know I am." Harry had been about to argue with him, but shut his mouth. 

"Alright then. So what if you are? We'll need people like you to defeat Voldemort." He ignored Draco's wince at his use of the name. 

"What if I don't want to?" Draco was looking away, and Harry could only see his profile, emotionless and cold. Staring at him, frown deepening, Harry pulled away. 

"What do you mean?"

"What if I don't _want_ to defeat the Dark Lord? I-"

"That's your father talking, Draco, not you." With that, Draco turned on Harry, eyes blazing. 

"How dare you say that? You don't know me. No-one knows me! Noone understands how I feel, what I have to live with, what I have to do..." He trailed off, and shook his head, looking bitter. "Nobody understands me, and I don't want them to. Especially you, Harry."

Still not understanding, Harry took Draco's hand. "Why? i want to understand you. Let me, Draco. Let me know you."

Draco's hand was shaking under his, and he looked paler even than normal. His eyes were wide and he looked almost terrified. "You can't. I don't want you to. You'd be... tainted. Tainted by what I am, what I have to be-"

"Draco, you're scaring me. What are you talking about?" But no matter how much Harry pushed, Draco wouldn't tell him. They spent the next fifteen minutes just holding one another, Draco almost desperately. Without warning, Draco disentangled himself from the embrace and stood, looking away. 

"Harry... I'm going home tomorrow night. My dad's arranged it so I can have Friday off. I need to get my stuff sorted, and..." he trailed off. Harry stood, and wrapped his arms around Draco's waist. 

"You don't have to go," he whispered gently in his ear. Draco placed his hands on Harry's, intertwined their fingers. 

"I do. I'll see you in Potions on Monday, Harry." With that, Draco pulled away from him, and Harry just watched him go, feeling abandoned and scared for Draco. 


	13. Help from an Unexpected Quarter

Uh, sorry this took so long. Enjoy, review. Ta! Oh, and to Marysia / Amethyst - they aren't. Gimme chance to get a plot devlopment going *grins*. I make ppl gay/straight as it suits the plot :D Except for Sev and his boyfriend who are meant to be!  
  
Disclaimer:JK's and the WB's. Not mine.  
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*  
Unexpected  
Part 13  
  
In Potions the next day, Harry spent most of it worrying about Draco. Luckily, he was working with Hermione so nothing exploded.   
  
"Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione asked for the tenth time, just stopping him from putting the wrong ingredient in the cauldron. "You're in another world today."  
  
"I'm okay. Just... tired." And he was. He'd spent all last night worrying about Draco, too. How well did he know him, after all? Which was the real Draco - the nasty, cold bully, or the sweet and kind romantic? Sighing, Harry shook his head. Draco was somewhere in between. He had hoped since he started going out with him that the bad side of his was all just a show, but he was realising now that was a foolish hope. With the family life he had, how could it be?   
  
Turning his attention to his cauldron, he watched as Hermione put perfectly ground cardamom into it and stirred it carefully, glancing at the text book. His eyes then roamed the classroom. Crabbe and Goyle had split up, working with Slytherins that weren't as stupid as they were - or as they seemed to be. Neville was looking nervous as he added his cardamom, looking relieved when nothing untoward happened. Ron was working with him, looking similarly nervous. Professor Snape was prowling around the class, and Harry noticed with something between amusement and annoyance that he kept glancing over at Neville. Frowning, Harry kept watching the teacher. He had been much less nasty of late. And if anyone could help him with Draco, it would be him. Could he do it, though? Ask the teacher who had tortured him for the last four years for help? He thought of Draco, frightening and afraid, and resolve hardened within him. He had to do it, for Draco.   
  
Hermione poked Harry to get his attention, and he watched inattentively as Professor Snape made Neville test his potion on himself. Neville's hair turned green, Snape took ten points from Gryffindor and handed the boy an antidote. Crabbe used his, which worked, making him invisible for a few seconds, and Snape awarded Slytherin ten points. He noticed Hermione was muttering as she put her books away.  
  
"-and mine would have worked too - which of course he knew, which was why he didn't. Would he have given Gryffindor ten points? I don't think-"  
  
"I'll meet you in the Great Hall," Harry said, putting his bag on the table, watching as everyone else left the dungeon. Hermione stared at him.   
  
"Why? What are you doing?"  
  
"I need to talk to Professor Snape." Hermione stared at him some more, then nodded slowly, understanding coming to her eyes. "I'll meet you in the Great Hall," he repeated, and resisted the urge to push her out of the classroom. Hermione's nodded and kissed Harry's cheek, startling him. Soon there was only Harry and Snape in the class. Snape raised an eyebrow at him.   
  
"Yes, Potter?"  
  
Harry's mouth was suddenly dry. "Uh. I, uh, need to talk to you about Draco." Harry saw to his surprise that Snape's expression softened slightly.   
  
"Indeed? And what do you wish to talk about?" He remained at his desk, and Harry remained at his, at the back of the class. The distance was too far but not far enough. Harry felt foolish and embaressed, and would have walked out had memories of Draco's mood last night not come to him.   
  
"I want to know if he's okay. I mean, he's gone home this weekend, and... I'm worried about him." Swallowing thickly, Harry wondered what it was exactly that he wanted to say, wanted to ask, when there was a knock at the door. A wave of relief washed over him and Snape swept over to the door and opened it. His relief increased as he saw that Professor Lupin had been the one knocking. Lupin entered the class, looking surprised at Harry's presence.   
  
"Harry! I didn't expect to see you here. Is everything alright?" He glanced at Snape, eyebrow raised, no doubt wondering if he had given him a detention. Snape folded his arms, face unreadable.  
  
"Mr. Potter wishes to know if Draco Malfoy is 'okay'."  
  
"And what would your answer be?" Lupin asked, cocking his head at the other teacher. A smile without humour crossed Snape's face.   
  
"No-one who spends much time in Lucius Malfoy's presence is 'okay', Remus." Lupin looked as if he understood, smiling sadly. Snape looked over at Harry, still looking uncomfortable. "Lucius was also at the school with us."   
  
Harry looked at him, letting that sink in. If they were in the same year, Snape would have shared a dormitory with Lucius Malfoy. Harry considered sharing a room with him for seven years and shuddered. Snape and Lupin shared a look that Harry couldn't read, and then Lupin sighed, leaning back against a desk, squeezing Snape's shoulder.   
  
"I had a few classes with the Slytherins," Lupin started. "Draco at his worst is nothing to Lucius. He had a far bigger gang - the rest of his house was too afraid to refuse him. Which I suppose was what caused the problem with the Death Eaters."  
  
"Sorry?" Harry asked, not quite following.   
  
"No doubt you heard when you started that all dark wizards were in Slytherin?" Harry nodded. "Not true, of course. Peter is a fine example of that." A dark looked passed over Lupin's face, but he continued. "That rumour stared in our year, because most of the Slytherin's in our year joined the Death Eaters."  
  
"All of us did." Snape said quietly, looking uncomfortable. He looked up at Harry, and the look in his eyes scared him. It was pure anger and hatred - but not at Harry. It was at himself. "Not that we didn't have reason to be afraid. By his fifth year he could use the Unforgivable Curses and was not afraid to do so. And when he asked us to join the Dark Lord... Well, it was an offer we could not refuse. At least, not unless we wished to die." He joyless smile returned. "Perhaps you think that's cowardly? Well, bravery is a Gryffindor trait. But the only one of you offered the same 'choice' made the same as we did." The last was said defensively and bitterly, and Snape looked down at the ground.  
  
Harry stared at his teacher of five years. He'd never thought of him in this way before. He'd always been the 'bad guy', never someone who he could sympathise with. Harry realised with a little guilt that he'd never seen him as a person before - he'd always been someone who he could lay blame on and take his anger out on. However, his mind turned back to Draco, as it always did. "He wouldn't do anything like that to his son, would he?"  
  
Another glance between Lupin and Snape.   
  
"Go on, Severus. He should know."  
  
"I shouldn't be the one to tell him."  
  
"And who else will?" Standing side by side the two teachers looked at one another, and Snape looked away first.   
  
"I believe Lucius would indeed do that. Draco is an extremely intelligent boy and the Dark Lord needs talent like his - or needs or destory it."   
  
Harry stared at him, his fear growing, heart aching.   
  
"Severus knows what he's talking about, Harry," Lupin said softly. "He and Lucius were friends at school. They seemed good friends, yet he would have had no qualms about killing him, and-"  
  
"Remus, be quiet." Snape leaned back against the same desk as Lupin, who placed a comforting hand over his. Harry watched all of this feeling detached. He thought that if all this sank in he might go crazy. He couldn't loose Draco, to death or to the dark side - he _couldn't_.  
  
"What should I do? What can I do?" Harry noticed his voice sounded desperate, but he didn't feel any emotion. Curious.  
  
"Be there for him," Lupin said, with a smile. "And ask him what we discussed about, Harry."  
  
Feeling uneasy, Harry stood, looking at his two teachers. "I want to do more. I want to _kill_ him for hurting Draco."  
  
"Give me time," Snape muttered, and Lupin squeezed his hand. He then glanced at his watch and looked up at Harry. "It's nearly the end of lunch. Get something to eat, and think it over. Come to my office at three, and we'll discuss it then."   
  
Reluctantly, Harry nodded and picked up his bag. He knew that Lupin was right, and that he should eat and think it over. But he didn't want to - he was scared as to what those thoughts would be. But he needed to help Draco and this was the way to do it. 


End file.
